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After Kilimanjaro, Familiar Ground

R. A. Dickey, Dave Racaniello and Kevin Slowey sat at Lava Tower on the east slope of Mount Kilimanjaro — overlooking a vast stretch of East Africa that lay 15,190 feet below — and dissected the National League East.

“We were looking out over this incredible expanse, maybe 330-400 miles away, talking about all the moves teams were making in the division,” Dickey said, “particularly the Marlins, who added so many good players like Jose and Mark Buehrle.”

Even in such a resplendent location on the other side of the world, the free-agent signing of shortstop Jose Reyes, Dickey’s former Mets teammate, was a hot topic. During a taxing seven-day hike that covered more than 52 miles and an ascent of 19,000 feet, plenty of topics were discussed, including baseball, family and the mission that sent Dickey and his colleagues to Africa’s highest point.

Dickey, a Mets pitcher, was accompanied by Racaniello, the team’s bullpen catcher; and Slowey, a former teammate of Dickey’s now with the Colorado Rockies.

The men returned to the United States on Tuesday after successfully completing their adventure. With the assistance of a team consisting of 2 guides, 4 assisting porters, 11 regular porters and a cook, they climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money and awareness for the Bombay Teen Challenge, an organization dedicated to rescuing young women from forced prostitution.

Dickey said the group surpassed their goal of $100,000 with the help of a gift from Jeff Wilpon, the chief operating officer of the Mets. Before the climb, Wilpon and the Mets had publicly objected to the endeavor out of fear that Dickey might be injured.

After he made it safely down, Dickey said one of the first texts he received was from Wilpon.

“He offered his congratulations and made a generous contribution,” Dickey said. “I understood their concerns, and I thought it was a great gesture on their part to help out in the end.”

Perhaps there was good reason for the Mets’ concern. The conditions atop the mountain were extreme, particularly the frigid air.

Photo

Mets pitcher R. A. Dickey and his wife, Anne, with their children, clockwise from top left, Eli, 5; Mary Gabriel, 9; Van, 9 months; and Lila, 8. Dickey just returned from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.Credit
Christopher Berkey for The New York Times

The cold was so biting that several times Dickey lost feeling in his fingers. When that happened, he put away his hiking pole and placed his right hand inside a layer of his coat to protect his fingers, especially the two digits that primarily allow him to earn his living, the index and middle fingers.

“I was never concerned that I would get frostbite,” he said, “but it was so cold I wanted to make sure to protect my right hand.”

Since returning after an 18-hour series of flights from Tanzania to Amsterdam to Detroit and then Nashville, Dickey played catch on Wednesday and reported no problems throwing his signature knuckleball. “I hit my throwing partner in the leg,” he happily reported.

Enduring icy temperatures was only part of the challenge. The air was so thin that altitude sickness was a constant concern, although Dickey noted that as he gasped for breath at 18,000 feet, the porters were casually smoking cigarettes and laughing as they set to work.

Dickey was equipped with a satellite linkup, a laptop and a mobile phone to chronicle his trip from the mountain in a series of articles and blog entries for The New York Times.

He was also able to exchange e-mails with his wife, Anne. But on the day Dickey and his party reached the summit, he fell out of communication for 12 long hours because the satellite link froze, leaving his editors and his wife a little concerned.

“We would get short e-mails that he pecked out with frozen fingers, and some photos,” Anne Dickey said. “When we didn’t hear from him for a while, it was hard. I know him and I know he would never do anything to jeopardize his health and his place in our family. But I was saying a lot of prayers.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Anne met her husband at the airport in Nashville. He emerged looking slightly thinner, wearing a red T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Just did it” and with his hair pulled back in a ponytail. He was back to being a dad with four children.

“I’m so happy for him,” Anne said. “It was hard for us, but I couldn’t complain knowing the cause, and how there are people suffering so much worse. Even if he didn’t make it to the top, it still would have been noble. But it’s a happy ending because he did make it, and he did raise awareness.”

A version of this article appears in print on January 20, 2012, on page B12 of the New York edition with the headline: After Kilimanjaro, Familiar Ground. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe